Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 793 Australian Farm and Mining Investment

Foxconn's investment quickly entered into formal negotiations. After learning about this, Yang Wendong didn't pay much attention to it. After all, Foxconn was too small at the moment, and it would be abnormal for him to pay too much attention to it.

Given Foxconn's current scale, the investment is only a few hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars. Even with subsequent financial assistance, a million Hong Kong dollars would be enough. For Hang Seng, this amount of money is nothing.
When it grows to a larger scale and has more collaborations, then we can consider future developments. But after all, it's OEM manufacturing, not the electronics technology industry. When it grows to a larger scale, the time required will be measured in decades.

Yang Wendong invested in it not only for economic reasons, but also because he hoped that the external OEM model could develop quickly. In this way, he wouldn't have to worry about so many production-related matters and could let professionals do what they are good at.

As for the impact of tens of thousands of workers, the impact is actually not significant, because Foxconn cannot take on such a large order in a short period of time. Secondly, as a major customer, Foxconn can also influence various aspects.

July arrived quickly, marking the start of summer vacation for students. With the Yang family's children on holiday, Yang Wendong took his family on a trip abroad, this time choosing Australia.

The plane landed smoothly, and after the cabin door opened, the Yang family members all came out.

"Australia, ah, it's been so long since I've been here," Yang Wendong said with emotion as he came out, suddenly feeling a chill; it was so cold.
The seasons in the Southern Hemisphere are opposite to those in the Northern Hemisphere. July is winter, and the temperature in Sydney is around 5°C. Having just come out of the air-conditioned cabin, I'm still a little unaccustomed to it.

Su Yiyi smiled and said, "Come on, put on your down jacket. We're going to the snow mountain later."

"Yes, tell the children to be careful too, to wear warm clothes so they don't catch a cold," Yang Wendong reminded them.

They're not here for a vacation in a big city; there are plenty of those cities in America and Asia.
Australia is more famous for its natural scenery. Since it was winter, the Yang family came to see the snow-capped mountains and maybe try some skiing, but safety was the top priority.

The head of Changxing Group's Australian branch came to pick them up at the airport, and the motorcade took the Yang family directly to Perry, Australia's most famous ski resort, where the snow is at its deepest this season.

"Wow, so much snow!" The Yang family children were overjoyed to see the snow-capped mountains. Children get excited whenever they see something fun.

Yang Wendong laughed and said, "Everyone, feel free to have fun, but please be careful. If you don't have the skills, don't even think about sliding down the mountain. Just play around in a small area."

Ah Biao, your team is responsible for the safety of every member of the Yang family. Remember, no risks are allowed.

"Yes, Mr. Yang," A-Biao quickly replied.

He was in charge of the Yang family's security, both external and internal, and the Yang family members generally cooperated with him. Those who did not cooperate would be immediately reported to Yang Wendong.

Over the next few days, Yang Wendong also tried skiing in a small area and had a good time. Occasionally, he could have snowball fights with the children, soak in the mountain hot springs, and play with the unique animals of Australia. He was living a very carefree life.

A week later, Yang Wendong, now relaxed, began the real business of his trip to Australia.
The group has very little business in Australia. Over the past ten years, apart from selling some products to Australian distributors, it has made almost no other investments. So this time, Yang Wendong took advantage of a family trip to come here and take a look.

The first stop was a large farm near Sydney;
Huang Yibo, who is in charge of the Australian business, said: "Mr. Yang, this Westdis Farm covers a total of 2 acres. It is mainly a large ranch, raising cattle and sheep. There are a total of 6 cattle and 13 sheep."
A large river flows through the center of the farm, along with an artificial lake for water storage, and the ranch itself has ample water rights.

"2 acres?" Yang Wendong did the mental calculation, which was about 80 square kilometers, or a 10*8km area;
This area is so large, comparable to a small city, but it's quite common in Australia, where there's so much wasteland.

Then Yang Wendong, holding binoculars, looked around and said, "There seems to be a lot of wasteland here?"

Huang Yibo said, "Yes, this farm is too large, and the Sidis family doesn't have enough funds to fully develop it, so it has been maintained at its current scale."

Yang Wendong then asked, "Are their cattle and sheep for food or for producing milk?"

Huang Yibo said, "Cows are used to produce milk, and sheep are used for wool, but if the profits are not good, they will often be slaughtered."

"Well, why did they sell this farm? Was it because it wasn't profitable in the market?" Yang Wendong continued to ask.

Huang Yibo said, "No, the market is still okay. Although the economy is not very good at the moment, milk and wool are still necessities."

The main reason is that their family made a lot of money from stock trading in the past two years, so they're thinking of selling the farm to focus on other businesses. While the farm won't lose money, making a fortune from it is too difficult.

“That’s true, agriculture doesn’t make much money,” Yang Wendong nodded.

Agriculture is definitely the least profitable industry, unless you grow special plants;
Yang Wendong's desire to acquire the company was merely a fling. Furthermore, given his extensive capital holdings across numerous industries, he could further diversify and seek out more "stable" sectors.

Agriculture may not be profitable, but it is very stable. After all, before the advent of controlled nuclear fusion, all of humanity's food supply depended on the land, and the world's arable land is limited, so it will always have value.

Huang Yibo said, "Yes, Mr. Yang, if you want to acquire it, now is a very good time. Such a large-scale farm is rare even in Australia."

Yang Wendong asked, "What is the property right term for this land?"

“It’s permanent. This farm has existed since 1890. At that time, Australia, like Britain, followed British law, and many lands were perpetual,” Huang Yibo replied.

"What was their offer?" Yang Wendong asked again.

What he cared about most was the ownership of the farm. In the early days, British colonies had perpetual ownership, which was later changed to 999 years, and then to 99 years again.
Although the minimum of 99 years is meaningless to Yang Wendong, as he is unlikely to live to that time, the difference in the term of land ownership can affect the valuation. In the future, permanent ownership will become increasingly rare and scarce.

Huang Yibo said, "The Sidis family offered 450 million Australian dollars. I estimate that we should be able to negotiate down to around 400 million."

“This price isn’t cheap,” Yang Wendong said.

Huang Yibo said: "Yes, it is much more expensive than other farms, but it is about 100 kilometers away from Sydney, which is much better than other farms in terms of location."
Most importantly, there is no shortage of water here; it rains a lot during the rainy season, and the rivers store water for extended periods, unless you undertake large-scale development later.

“If I buy it, I will naturally develop it.” Yang Wendong thought for a moment and said, “Okay, I will have someone from headquarters come over to review the farm here. If the price is right and there are no problems, I will buy it.”

Throughout human history, many super-rich individuals have enjoyed buying farms. For example, Bill Gates, the richest man in the world, became the largest farmer in the United States in the 21st century, and Warren Buffett has also made investments in farms.

As a Chinese, Yang Wendong has an inexplicable feeling about land. He feels that owning a large amount of land is something that must be done after becoming wealthy.

Putting everything else aside, even if the Yang family declines a hundred years from now, they will at least still have a vast area of ​​land.
Australia now, and South America in the next few years, are both good places to buy farmland. Who knows, if you have enough money in the future, you might even become the world's largest "landlord".

Huang Yibo said, "Okay, Mr. Yang, I will also cooperate and prepare for the review."

"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "Besides farms, the most suitable investment in Australia is mining. What do you think?"

Australia built its country on a mining site. This was a joke on the internet back in the day;

Like Brazil, Australia is blessed with abundant and rare mineral deposits. Coupled with its small population, it has become one of the world's developed countries by relying solely on mining and agriculture.

Even in the 21st century, there are still many undeveloped lands and vast deserts in central and western Australia, and even the Australian coast has a large number of oil and gas fields, which makes the Chinese and Americans very envious.

Huang Yibo was already prepared and replied, "Mr. Yang, I think we can invest in Australia's mining industry. With the Asian economy booming, many countries, including Japan, need a lot of metals, which is also an opportunity for Australia."
The Australian government has now invited global investment to explore the central and western regions. If mineral deposits are found, development rights will be granted. Although the investment is substantial, once discovered, the value could be at least tens or even hundreds of millions of Australian dollars.

As the group's head in Australia, he naturally hoped that the group could make significant investments in Australia.

However, besides agriculture, Australia only has mining left. The owner also said that the agricultural sector is just to satisfy personal wishes and will not become a strategic decision for the company, but mining might be a good option. After all, the group has such a huge amount of capital and needs to invest in certain areas. In addition, the group already has a steel smelting industry in Asia, which makes it even more suitable.

"Yes, that's what I think too. It would be best if we could find an iron ore deposit, so that Taiwan's steel mills could save some costs," Yang Wendong nodded.

Actually, the steel mills in Taiwan are a minor problem. They are not very large in scale, and even though they have their own mines, the situation is only slightly better.
The core demand is still from Japan, the Asian region, and the mainland in the future, especially Baosteel, which is already planning to build in the mainland. It will need tens of millions of tons of iron ore in the coming year, which is a huge amount of wealth.

Under normal circumstances, he might not invest, since finding minerals in such a vast area as Australia is like finding a needle in a haystack. However, as a time traveler, he still knows the approximate locations of some large iron ore mines. Once he discovers these mines, even if he can't develop them on his own, as long as he has ownership rights, he can cooperate with a large company like Rio Tinto and get a share of the profits. At the same time, he can also have a greater influence on the mainland, achieving multiple benefits in one fell swoop.

Huang Yibo smiled and said, "Which area does Mr. Yang have his eye on? I'll go and discuss the surveying rights."

“No rush.” Yang Wendong shook his head and said, “First, you need to acquire a surveying company in Australia for me, one that belongs to us.”

"We'll acquire it ourselves? That would be too costly, wouldn't it?" Huang Yibo asked, puzzled.

Mining exploration is a high-risk, high-investment project, so apart from a few large oil and mining companies, most mining companies outsource their mining exploration.
Yang Wendong smiled and said, "I've already thought about that. You don't need to worry about it. Just follow my instructions, choose a suitable company, and see if there are any willing to sell. This kind of thing isn't something we can just buy whenever we want; it also depends on the other party."

If any of the mineral deposits they are looking for is found, the value can easily cover the entire cost of the surveying company.

Only with his own surveying company could he feel at ease when searching for mineral deposits, thus avoiding the possibility of some people exploiting legal loopholes to cause trouble after a huge mineral deposit was discovered.

Furthermore, their own surveying company can also undertake business from other companies, so there is no major risk in acquiring such a company.

Huang Yibo knew about Yang Wendong's past achievements in the investment field, so he naturally dared not refute him and agreed, "Okay, I will arrange to investigate these surveying companies in Australia right away."

“Yes, once we have a target, we’ll apply to headquarters and go through the process.” Yang Wendong said, “Once the acquisition is successful, I’ll also arrange for some Chinese to join these companies. In addition, I’ll have the company’s general manager go to Hong Kong; I have some things to discuss with him.”

Finding, negotiating, and acquiring a business in Australia is also very time-consuming, and he certainly can't wait in Australia, even for a farm;
Huang Yibo replied, "Okay, I understand, Mr. Yang."

Yang Wendong added, "By the way, Hong Kong is planning to build a zoo. You should also find some professionals here to see if there are any valuable and famous animals from Australia that are suitable to be transported to Hong Kong."

He is very dedicated to his zoo project; in fact, he wants to make it one of the few places where many endangered animals will survive in the future.
Whether they are Chinese or foreigners, he accepts any rare or endangered animals he finds.
These animals are rare and valuable. In the future, their value will not only be intangible, but will also attract national-level discussions on cooperation. For example, if a country had hundreds of South China tigers with different genes, it would be possible to completely restore the South China tiger population in the 21st century.

“Rare animals?” Huang Yibo thought for a moment and said, “There should be some in Australia too. I’ll check it out later.”

“Okay, we need to take this matter seriously,” Yang Wendong reminded him.

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)